Standard_5

Library and Information Resources

Introduction
The South Puget Sound Community College Library and Instructional Support Services Department marshals the staff, services, and equipment necessary to serve the teaching and learning needs of students, faculty, and staff in order to meet the college’s educational mission. The Library/ISS staff members offer instruction to students and faculty on the use of the library’s holdings and equipment; they carefully maintain the condition and currency of the holdings, equipment, and facilities; they involve faculty in the selection of their holdings and equipment; and they involve students, faculty, and staff in attempts to monitor the quality of their services, facilities, and equipment.

5.A Purpose and Scope

Analysis and Appraisal

5.A.1

The College’s mission includes these objectives:
1. Offer dynamic and balanced educational programs in a global context.
2. Develop and employ technology that reflects and supports instructional, internal and external
community needs.
3. Integrate assessment, planning, and resource allocation at the . . . program level.
4. Maintain high standards for recruitment, retaining, hiring, and evaluating employees.
5. Create a sustainable physical environment.
[From the College Catalogue (2009-10), p. 2]

The ways in which the Library/Instructional Support Services Department (hereafter referred to as “the library”) and the Information Technology Department (IT) supports these objectives are reported below.

The library is centrally located on our campus and strives to maintain the holdings, equipment, and personnel necessary to serve all of the College’s educational programs. The library’s hours of operation are Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 p.m., Friday, 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., and Saturday, 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. The library is closed Sunday, holidays, and during College breaks.

The library has 49,879 books, 6573 media programs, 12 electronic reference books and encyclopedias, and 9 major databases.

The library now has 89 computers, including 22 for offices, 38 for students, 20 for bibliographic work, 9 student senate laptops, and 7 servers. The number of computers has been increasing steadily over the past two years (a total of 72 in 2008 and 54 in 2007). One of the computers in the library has specialized software on it (“Dragon Naturally Speaking” and “Jaws”) so that it is more accessible to students with disabilities.

Library personnel include the following:

2 FT librarians
.6 FTE adjunct librarians
.75 eLearning support manager
6.5 FT technicians
2 paraprofessional staff
1 senior secretary
8 PT classified staff
6 student workers
1 dean

Services provided by the library staff include:

n Instruction for students:
(1) Classes on research skills are offered every Advising Day of the year
(2) In 2007-08 librarians taught 167 classes on research skills and use of library resources
for instructors’ classes in a wide range of academic and technical programs. As of April
of the 2008-09 year 171 of these classes were offered.

n Instruction for faculty:
(1) Once a year in September the library offers an introduction to the equipment in the
library and training on plagiarism and copyright regulations
(2) The eLearning office offers two workshops per week on using software and
various management systems
(3) Interact with many faculty and students each day in order to help with educational
technology in the classrooms and offer information on the use of library holdings and
services
(4) Provide eLearning support so that faculty can offer online instruction. In 2008 a ½-
time eLearning support manager was hired in order to assist faculty in developing and
maintaining online classes. In September 2009 this position was increased to ¾ time
to meet demand. This is important because as of September 2008 the
College was able to provide an AA degree completely online, and because there was an
increase in online classes offered (from 39 classes in fall of 2008 to 64 classes in fall of
2009).

n Hawks Prairie campus: the library provides classroom technology support at Hawks;
there are regular meetings between Hawks technical staff and library staff; Hawks technical staff provides the same kind of classroom instruction as the librarians do on the main campus
n Assistance with classroom technology
n Audio-visual media production services and equipment

The Information Technology Services Department (ITS) provides the following equipment and services:
n Student network account info on server in Bldg 34 ICS area and college Active Directory server
n Student wireless network equipment in buildings and ITS 22-100 area
n Student email on server at MS integration with student account enabling system on server in ITS 22-100
n Student Life/government web sites on server in ITS 22-100
n Course web sites on server in ITS 22-100
n WAOL/Angel Learning Management System at WAOL server Spokane
n Student Management System (HP3000) administration on server in ITS 22-100
n Web Site access for registration, tuition payment, and financial aid on servers in ITS 22-100
n Computer labs in Bldg 34, 35, 21 and classroom computers/media systems
n Student kiosks/internet access systems and Student Services Lab in building 22, 25, 27, 28
n Working on SMS integration to Angel

5.A.2
n The library has 49,879 books and 6573 media items. This compares well with an Association of College and Research Libraries 2007 survey of 260 2-year college libraries that average 58,543 books and 3270 media items.
n Library use: avg. 2625 visits per month (2008-09)
n 117 faculty are posting electronic reserves through the library (This is 35% of the 338 Full-time and part-time teaching faculty. [“SPSCC Fact Book 2007-08”])
n online resources are available 24 hours a day
n 11,063 books were loaned in 2007-08
n there were 369,224 periodical & data base retrievals in 2007-08
n 5275 media programs were checked out in 2007-08, serving 36,930 students

n According to an SBCTC Library Expenditures Report, in 2007-08 the library spent $531,307 for 3489 FTEs at $152 per FTE. (The state community college library average is $198 per FTE.) This places our library at 25th out of 30 community college libraries in the state in terms of expenditures per FTE.

n In order to gauge the sufficiency of the library’s holdings and related information resources the library conducted three satisfaction surveys in April 2009. A brief summary of the results follows (see the exhibit section for the complete data collected).

A. Faculty Satisfaction
1. Faculty satisfaction with library resources: 88.9% marked 4-5 on a scale of 1-5.
2. Faculty satisfaction with formal library instruction: 83-100% of faculty marked
“excellent” to questions about the quality of the library’s instruction.
3. Comments include: more computers needed, bigger library needed, more updated
DVDs in my field, more DVDs.

B. Student Satisfaction

	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor	N/A	Total
Policies	50%	44	4	0	2	206
Computer availability	9%	36	40	15	0	209
Temperature	44%	48	7	1	0	208
Noise	49%	37	11	3	0	209
Signage	39%	50	7	1	3	205
Printers	49%	41	8	2	0	208
Copy machine	35%	41	18	4	2	202
Hours	45%	38	13	4	0	207
Study space	48%	39	12	1	0	209
Circulation	56%	40	3	0	1	205
Reserves	52%	40	5	0	3	202
Media	45%	43	11	0	1	205
Off campus access to resources	60%	29	9	1	1	206
Books	32%	51	13	3	1	205
Cleanliness	65%	30	3	1	1	208
Friendliness	79%	17	4	0	0	208

1. Student use of the library: 38% daily; 40% weekly; 10% monthly; 8% less than once.
2. Resources used by students: electronic databases = 42%; books = 16%; media = 2%.
per month; 2% never.
3. Ease of use of the library catalogue: 72% of students found the catalogue “somewhat
easy” to “very easy” to use; 21% don’t use it.
4. “Do you generally find the research materials that you need?” -- 78% of students
reported “always” to “usually.”
5. Common comments include: more computers are needed (mentioned in 77 out of 161
written comments [48%]), too crowded and noisy, library could be open for more
hours in the evenings and on weekends, could have more books and newer books.

C. Staff/Administration Satisfaction

1. Regarding the courtesy of the library staff, 71% of College staff said “always” and
29% said “usually.”
2. Regarding use of the library, 73% of College staff use the library and 27% do not.
3. Regarding the quality of the library’s response to the College staff’s technical needs,
56% said “excellent” and 23% said “good.”
4. Comments include: could be bigger, not enough computers, could have more DVDs
and books.

n Additional information on the quantity and sufficiency of the library’s holdings and
information resources follows:

LEVEL	Suitability of the college level databases for students. This will be completed with the results of the database research by faculty librarian on 4/21/09.
BREADTH	The chart below shows how many articles are available through Ebsco to a representative sample of our programs.
		COMPARISON OF PROGRAMS TAUGHT
TO ARTICLE AVAILABILITY*
Subject Area	No. of Articles
Archeology	34460
Automotive	41818
Botany	47132
Business	684979
Computers	799151
Dental	67170
English	1366348
Food	350790
Geology	63809
History	724324
Humanities	88349
Legal	158625
Literature	419699
Mathematics	236108
Nursing	165078
Science	2246917
*Primary search of Ebsco

|||| ||

QUANTITY	Comparing the number of books and other paper materials, e-books, and audiovisual materials with averages in the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Academic Libraries Survey (ALS), 2006 yielded the results below.
	Number of subscription databases available for student use.		Number of volumes, units, and subscriptions held at the end of the year at academic libraries, by level, size, and Carnegie classification of institution. The library has average-size collections of paper materials and AV materials when compared to all less than 4-year and associates institutions. (“FTE” category includes all U.S. academic libraries.)

The sufficiency of the library’s online database collection is evident from a comparison with the database holdings from colleges of similar size in the system. The comparison colleges are: Renton (15,229 headcount), Skagit Valley (12,825), and Walla Walla (11,405). [Data from SBCTC “2007-08 Academic Year Report.”

Online Database	SPSCC	Skagit	Renton	Walla Walla
ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry	X in Proquest			X
Academic Search Premier	X in Proquest			X
Access Science	X FREE	X		X
Agricola	X FREE			X
AltHealth Watch –Ebsco				X
Alt-Press Watch	X in Proquest			X
ArticleFirst - OCLC				X
ARTStor	X We have faculty access to this	X
Auto Repair Reference Center	Auto Dept has own subscription		X
Christian Science Monitor	X in Proquest			X
CINAHL	X with full text	X with full text	X with full text	X with full text
Computer Source-Ebsco				X
Contemporary Authors		X
Contemporary Literary Criticism Select		X
Country Watch	X
CQ Researcher	X	X		X
CultureGrams		X	X	X
Directory of Open Access Journals-FREE	X FREE	X
EBSCO	X	X	X	X
Electronic Human Relations Area File	X??
eHRAF	X
ELibrary			X
Encyclopedia Americana	X
Encyclopedia Britannica Academic		X
Encyclopedia of Sociology		X
ERIC				X
Ethnic NewsWatch	X in Proquest			X
Fuente Academica				X
Gale Virtual Reference Library	X	X	X Encyclopedias
Geriatric Nursing	X
Global Researcher	X
Global Road Warrior	X
GPO Monthly Catalog				X
GreenFILE FREE		X
Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia	X		X
Groliers Lands & People, New Book of Popular Science, Encyclopedia Americana			X
Health Reference Center Academic – Gale	X	X
HealthSource Consumer Edition – Ebsco	X			X
HealthSource: Nursing/Academic				X
Historical New York Times -	X in Proquest			X
Ingenta Connect ABSTRACT ONLY		X
Library, Information Sciences & Technology Abstracts (LISTA) - Ebsco				X
Los Angeles Times	X in Proquest			X
MedicLatina - Ebsco	X in EBSCO			X
Medline-	X FREE			X
National Newspapers	Comparable in Proquest			X
NetLibrary - OCLC				X
Newspaper Source	Comparable in Proquest			X
New York Times	Proquest			X
Nursing Reference Center - Ebsco	X			X
Nursing Resource Center - Gale	X	X
Opposing Viewpoints	X
Oxford English Dictionary Online	X
Oxford Reference Online – Premium Collection		X	X
Professional Development Collection- Ebsco				X
PROQUEST	X	X	X	X
Psychology & Behavioral Collection-Ebsco				X
Public Library of Science (PLoS)	X FREE	X
PubMed & PubMed Central	X FREE	X
Reference USA			X
Religion & Philosophy Collection-Ebsco	X in EBSCO			X
Research Library				X
Salem Health – Magill’s Medical Guide			X
Science.gov FREE	X FREE	X
Scirus		X
Smarthinking Tutoring Service	X
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy	X FREE	X
Teacher Reference Center-Ebsco				X
Topic Search				X
Vocational & Career Collection -Ebsco				X
Wall Street Journal	Proquest			X
Washington State Newsstand	Proquest			X
Washington Post	Proquest			X
Washington Times FREE				X
WOIS	X		X
World Almanac			X	X
WorldCat	X FREE			X
World Conflicts Today			X

5.A.3
n The library dean sits on the Instructional Council with other faculty deans where the library’s contribution to educational programs and courses can be discussed monthly.

n Library/Instructional Support Services Advisory Committee – a faculty representative from every academic division serves on the committee and the committee tries to ensure that library holdings and services support the College’s instructional mission. This committee meets twice per year.
n Instructors are free to request acquisitions for the library’s holdings in support of their teaching responsibilities at any time.

Strengths

n Library staff are actively engaged in teaching students about research skills and library use
(5.A.1)
n Library’s holdings compare well with the average U.S. two-year college holdings (as
reported by the Association of College and Research Libraries, 2007) and with colleges of similar size in the Washington system. (5.A.2)
n The library is well used by students, faculty and staff, and all are generally satisfied with the library’s hours of operation, holdings, equipment, services, and physical environment (5.A.2)
n There is close collaboration between library staff and faculty in order to ensure that
the library’s holdings and services address the educational programs of the College (5.A.3)

Challenges

n The library ranks 25th out of 34 community college libraries in the state for expenditures per FTE. An increase in funds could help expand the library’s holdings, equipment, and services. (5.A.2)
n Faculty, student, and staff comments strongly suggest that more computers are needed.
(5.A.2)
n Faculty, student, and staff comments strongly suggest that a bigger library is needed in order to accommodate more computers, study tables, and study rooms. (5.A.2)
n Faculty, students, and staff report that adding more books and videos would be helpful. (5.A.2)
n Students request more books and more updated books. (5.A.2)

Future Directions/Recommendations
A larger budget for the library would be helpful in expanding the library’s space and in acquiring more computers, books, and videos for student, faculty, and staff use.


5.B Information Resources and Services

Analysis and Appraisal
5.B.1
The collection librarians are responsible for the selection and acquisition of library materials, and audio-visual equipment is selected by the Media Department upon recommendations from the faculty according to their teaching needs. AV equipment is maintained and organized by the Media Department, and at this time all class rooms have built in AV systems or access to portable systems.

Printed and media material and equipment are acquired according to these criteria:

• Relevance to curriculum-based needs of students.
• Relevance to instructional needs of faculty.
• Probable need based on existing programs and collections.
• Intellectual content and scholarly worth.
• Priority is given to materials which meet direct curricular needs in the courses offered at the college.

(See 5.B.3 below.)

Since these selection criteria depend heavily on faculty needs, they clearly support the educational programs of the College as well as the College’s mission values #1 and #2 (5.A.1).

5.B.2
The library actively contributes toward helping students, faculty, and staff use the library’s resources effectively. This is done when librarians offer classes:
· to students on research skills and the use of library resources (167 of these classes were offered during the 2007-08 year, and 171 were offered during the 2008-09 year).
· to faculty and staff on the use of library equipment and teaching and management software (each September and as needed by individuals).

The classes for students are given by the staff librarians in the library class room and in other class rooms on campus. Classes for students on research skills are often requested by faculty members for specific courses, and these classes are individualized for the group of students taking a particular course. An indication of the effectiveness of these classes is the high level of student satisfaction as reported in the 2009 Student Survey:
The following statements are about formal library instruction (when a librarian comes to your classroom, or you meet in the library or computer lab).

	True	Somewhat true	False	N/A
I learned something new	68%	23%	2%	7%
I understood how to use library resources afterwards	65%	25%	2%	8%
Research seemed easier afterwards	62%	26%	4%	8%
The librarian was an effective teacher	71%	19%	3%	7%
Library instruction helped me get a better grade	40%	36%	8%	16%
I liked having hands-on practice	68%	20%	2%	10%

Faculty satisfaction with these classes is also high, as indicated in the following chart from the 2009 Faculty Survey:
The following statements apply to formal library instruction. Skip this question if you do not invite librarians to teach your classes.

	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor
The librarian worked with me to make content applicable to my class.	92%	8%	0%	0%
The delivery was effective	88%	12%	0%	0%
The librarian seemed competent in the subject matter	100%	0%	0%	0%
Students' resources were better because of instruction	83.3%	16.7%	0%	0%

In order to better serve the students the library class room has been upgraded to a computer lab with 20 computers so that each student may have hands-on experience in what is being presented. It would be useful to have more computers and a larger space so that more students could be accommodated.

5.B.3
The library supports the following policy statements by the American Library Association and the Educational Film Association:

Library Bill of Rights //http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/statementspols/statementsif/librarybillrights.cfm//

Freedom to Read //http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/statementspols/ftrstatement/freedomreadstatement.cfm//

Intellectual Freedom http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/missionhistory/keyactionareas/ifaction/intellectual.cfm

Freedom to View http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/statementspols/ftvstatement/freedomviewstatement.cfm

The purpose of the Collection Development Policy is to serve as a reference for the library staff in the development and maintenance of the library’s collection. The library’s collection is composed of print, non-print, media, and electronic materials. Materials are acquired, organized, and made available to members of the college community in order to fulfill the aims and functions of the college and its curriculum.

Participant Responsibilities:

• While the Dean of Library/Instructional Support Services is ultimately responsible for all library services and programs, the faculty librarians share responsibility for the development and maintenance of the library’s collection. Areas of responsibility are defined as print (including electronic formats) and media.
• Librarians work with faculty members soliciting their input in their areas of expertise. Requests are evaluated in relationship to overall curriculum needs, selection policies, and financial constraints.
• Student and staff recommendations for the purchase of materials are welcomed.

Guidelines for Selection:

• Relevance to curriculum-based needs of students.
• Relevance to instructional needs of faculty.
• Probable need based on existing programs and collections.
• Intellectual content and scholarly worth.
• Priority is given to materials which meet direct curricular needs in the courses offered at the college.
• After primary needs have been met consideration may be given to secondary materials.

Criteria for Selection Evaluation:

• Reviews from authoritative sources and selection aids
• Recommendations from faculty
• Recommendations from students, staff, administration
• Relevance to the curriculum
• Adequacy of current holdings
• Availability of resources from other sources
• Relevance to professional growth
• Historical / cultural value
• Level of interest for faculty and students
• Cost

Resources not normally purchased:

• Textbooks
• Highly technical resources

Copyright Compliance: The library complies with copyright laws when acquiring or duplicating resources. http://www.library.spscc.ctc.edu/lmc/lmcopy1.htm
Audiovisual and Electronic Materials:
Selection of these materials emphasizes support for classroom instruction as well as quality, effectiveness, and currency.

• Content directly supports classroom instruction or is potentially useful for more than one class or department.
• Treatment and presentation should be on the appropriate academic level.
• Technical quality of color, sound, continuity, etc.
• Cost effectiveness and accessibility of format.
• Cost or availability of appropriate equipment.
• Cost or availability of sufficient technical support.
• Cost and amount of anticipated use will be considerations in selection.

Gifts:
The library welcomes gifts, which are evaluated for acquisition by the same criteria used for purchased items. Gifts are accepted with the understanding that those not acquired will be disposed of in the library’s usual manner.

Weeding:
Weeding, the discarding of materials, is conducted by librarians in sections over a five-year period.
Guidelines for weeding are:

• Outdated materials.
• Superseded materials.
• Excessively worn or damaged materials.
• Multiple copies of monographs no longer needed to support the curriculum.

Criteria used for discards:
· Has the book been checked out in the last six years?
· Is the book a classic?
· Discard badly damaged or worn-out materials.
· Books in the sciences, technologies, social sciences, and medicine that are three to five years old may be candidates for weeding.
· Books in the humanities, arts, and music should not be weeded unless they are obviously superseded
· Audiovisual items, which are missing parts that cannot be easily replaced or repaired, will be discarded.
· Shelf space considerations will be weighed when discarding items.
· Replacement cost of items will be considered before discarding, but will not be the most heavily weighted consideration.
These policies are posted on the library’s web site.
Policies regarding the management of ITS resources are stated in the College’s Acceptable Use Policy, the College Handbook, Student Code of Conduct, ITS Website, the internal procedures plan, RCW 42.56.100 and 420, and RCW 43.88.160.
5.B.4

• The library dean sits on the Instructional Council with other faculty deans where the library’s contribution to educational programs and courses can be discussed monthly.

Also, the Library/Instructional Support Services Advisory Committee includes a faculty representative from every academic division; this committee tries to ensure that library holdings and services support the College’s instructional mission. The committee meets twice per year. (From 5.A.3)

• Library/media staff is participating in planning a new library to ensure that the new library will serve the needs of all the library users.

• Library/media staff is heavily involved in the design of AV systems in all new construction and upgrades of all existing class rooms. Media staff coordinates with faculty on the design of these AV systems to ensure that they meet the faculty needs.

• Students, faculty, and staff are surveyed annually. Each group is given their own specialized survey that includes questions related to overall satisfaction with library/media services. Some of the results of these surveys are reported in 5.A.2.

• With respect to the educational services provides by ITS, faculty, staff, and students participate in study/planning groups and on the Administrative Systems Committee, the college IT Strategic Planning process, student wireless pilot planning, building construction planning, and the college digital signage project.

5.B.5
The library is using computer and internet resources in a number of ways to ensure that students have access to good quality information in a timely manner. The College subscribes to a number of academic data bases (see attachment) that are accessible to students wherever they have internet access.

The library also subscribes to “ARTSTORE,” a data base containing thousands of art images and information for instructional use.

The library is part of a consortium that enables students to access 24/7 live Reference (“Talk to a Librarian”).

The library has 35 computers with wireless internet access.

Strengths

• Criteria for acquisition of materials and equipment for the library are based on the College’s mission and educational programs. (5.B.1)
• The library is actively engaged in educating students, faculty and staff in the use of library resources, and a high percentage of students and faculty report that the classes offered by library staff are helpful. (5.B.2)
• Policies for the acquisition and management of library resources are well developed. (5.B.3)
• Students, faculty, and staff have opportunities to contribute to the planning and development of the library’s resources and services. (5.B.4)
• The library has equipment and services that make it possible for users to obtain data from a variety of sources. (5.B.5)

Challenges

• It would be helpful to have more computers and larger space for the library classroom so that more students could be included in classes on the use of library resources. (5.B.2)

Future Directions/Recommendations
Find more space and more computers for the library classrooms so that more students could be
included in classes on the use of library resources. (5.B.2)


5.C. Facilities and Access

Analysis and Appraisal
5.C.1
Library and information resources are readily accessible to all students and faculty. These resources and services are sufficient in quality, level, breadth, quantity, and currency to meet the requirements of the educational program. (5.C.1)

n The library’s hours are set in accordance with the College’s annual schedule so as to allow maximum access by students, faculty, and staff. (5.A.1)
n A new web site for the library was launched during Spring Quarter 2009. Many of the library’s resources are available online through this website – www.library.spscc.ctc.edu.
n During the last year the College has been moving to offer more classes on line and the library has included that link.
n There are links to online tutoring 24/7 as well as e-reserves.
n The students, staff, and faculty are able to contact a librarian by phone, e-mail, and chat room.
n Students are able to check out laptops and USB flash drives.
n The library is in full compliance with ADA standards.
n The library’s holdings, equipment, and services are sufficient to support the educational mission of the College. (5.A.2)




5.C.2
The library belongs to a cooperative of more than 60 libraries throughout Washington State called Ask-Wa where information is available 24 hours a day. This technology provides online reference services through chat, e-mail, and instant messages.

Strengths
n The library establishes hours of operation and a variety of physical and electronic means by which users can access the library’s website, staff, and resources.
n The library belongs to a large cooperative with other libraries in the state so that users have access to a large source of information.

Challenges
None at this time.

Future Directions/Recommendations


5.D Personnel and Management

Analysis and Appraisal

5.D.1
Personnel are adequate in number and in areas of expertise to provide services in the development and use of library and information resources.

5.D.2
The organization chart outlines the services provided by library, media, and technical services in each specific area. The “Library/Media Services” website has a detailed list of the staff (with job titles) and the services provided. Duties and responsibilities are clearly defined in the reference materials provided.

The library dean, full-time faculty librarians, and adjunct librarians all have master’s degrees in library science.

The ITS department provides time from three staff members in order to provide services for student learning. Two of these staff members are qualified as ITS 4 and one is qualified as ITS 3. Their responsibilities and tasks are defined by State Human Resources classifications. (See http://dop.wa.gov/CompClass/JobClassesSalaries/Pages/ClassifiedJoblisting-I.aspx)

5.D.3
Library professional staff regularly attend library and eLearning related events, and our budget supports and encourages their membership and attendance at such events. We have a line item budget for Adjunct Librarians which includes coverage for attendance at professional workshops/seminars, etc., as well as a decent travel budget. Professional groups we support include: WLA (Washington Library Association), CLAMS (College Librarians and Media Specialists), eLearning Council, LMDC (Library Media Directors Council), ELC (eLearning Council). The College also supports our classified staff attendance at technology and equipment events, as well as other educational and professional development opportunities.

Professional development opportunities for ITS personnel as funds are available. There are limited funds from the Classified Staff Training Fund ($300) and departmental funds ($500). Typical IT training averages $3000-5000 per course per person, depending on technical depth and scope.

5.D.4
The library dean reports directly to the Vice President for Instruction (as shown on the “Instructional Organization Chart”) and meets regularly with the deans of instructional planning and development, humanities/communication, social sciences/business, natural and applied sciences, and applied technology in order to discuss issues concerning the institution’s educational mission and goals. These meetings include monthly Instructional Council meetings, weekly Division Deans and Instructional Administrators meetings, and quarterly Assessment and Research Council meetings. The Instructional Council includes representatives from Student Services, Enrollment Services, and Student Support. This organizational structure provides frequent opportunities for the library dean to discuss issues concerning student and faculty needs.

5.D.5
The library dean sits on the Instructional Council along with the other academic deans and with representatives from Student Services. This council’s monthly meetings focus specifically on curriculum development. (5.B.4)

5.D.6
According to an SBCTC Library Expenditures Report, in 2007-08 the library spent $531,307 for 3489 FTEs at $152 per FTE. This places our library at 25th out of 34 community college libraries in the state in terms of expenditures per FTE. The state average is $198 per FTE.
Increased financial support would be useful for addressing the space and equipment needs mentioned in 5.A and 5.B Future Directions.

Staffing -- All the new buildings on campus pose a particular challenge, as the library will not only be continuing to choose equipment for four new building projects, but will be installing and maintaining at least 65 additional computers and other equipment without additional staff.

Strengths


Challenges
n There could be more funds available for training of ITS personnel.
n

Future Direction/Recommendations


5.E Planning and Evaluation

Analysis and Appraisal

5.E.1
With the reorganization of the library in July 2008, planning and involvement were changed to reflect the new realities and information and technology needs of the college. The division has always worked closely with faculty and staff on collection development and has a long history of being responsive to instructional needs. After July 2008 internal planning and external consultation became more formalized. Since the beginning of the 2008 school year, library staff meetings have been held every week on Friday afternoons. In addition, in 2008 the Library Advisory Committee met for the first time in several years, and its first order of business was to draft a new mission statement that reflected the contemporary role of the library on campus. These steps indicate that inclusiveness and self-reflection are guiding principles of this division.

5.E.2
As a result of this recent reorganizing, there is increasing coordination between I.T. Services and the library. In the winter of 2009, the two divisions established a one-stop point of contact for technical support on campus. The single support number addressed a long standing issue with overlapping services and a confusing process for receiving technical assistance.

5.E.3

Strengths
As part of its on-going effort to refine and improve services, the library has instituted annual surveys. The first survey took place in the spring of 2008. The implementation of these surveys indicates an awareness that the library’s planning and development must be responsive to the information and technology needs of its constituents across the campus. As indicated in the 2007-2010 assessment plan, these surveys are meant to be key components for how the library assesses and develops its performance over the long term.

• The expansion of the survey in 2009 demonstrates a willingness on the part of the library to refine its evaluation. The two surveys of 2008 became three in 2009, with separate surveys devoted to faculty, students, and administrators and staff respectively. The October 2008 division report notes an increase in the number of courses served by instructional librarians from 140 in 2006-2007 to 171 in 2007-2008. The faculty version of the 2008 survey does include three questions relating to instructional support services, and the narrative responses to those questions were overwhelmingly positive. Nonetheless, the October 2008 report indicates that instructional support services are the “bedrock” of the library’s service to the College, and as evidence of this priority, question six on the 2009 faculty survey was expanded to become a more nuanced evaluation of instructional support services. That the library is serious about being responsive to instructors and students is evident in the expanded evaluation. Given the scale of changes taking place within the division, it is essential to acknowledge that the development of the evaluation and planning process is an on-going endeavor.

Challenges
· While the library collects and records data about resource usage, the internal mechanisms for analyzing this data and the benchmarks against which they are being measured are unclear. Among community colleges in the C.T.C. system, South Puget Sound Community College is 25th out of 34 in expenditures per F.T.E. Analyzing the procedures and trends of peer institutions would seem to be meaningful in helping us better understand what our resource levels should be and whether we stand out for not being able to provide services that are readily available and in demand at other colleges. In addition, surveying the resources of other colleges might help the division draft surveys that address not only what it is doing, but what it should be doing to meet the information and technology needs of the college community.
· Core aspects of the library’s mission were not part of the evaluations conducted so far.
· Although there is no direct formal agreement with other schools about sharing resources, students at the College do have borrowing privileges and access to electronic resources at the nearby Evergreen State College, but the library has not measured how often students use the resources at Evergreen or evaluated whether this informal agreement is beneficial to the college community as it now stands. The library does take part in an inter-library loan program, but that program was not evaluated in any of the 2008 or 2009 surveys.
· As of spring 2009, there is no formal mechanism for using the surveys in short term planning. While it is evident that changes and improvements continue to happen, the degree to which these changes arise from the surveys and evaluation process is unclear, and the library has no documentation demonstrating a correlation between the evaluation process and policy or acquisition decisions. Following the practices of peer institutions, the library should draft procedures, develop a policy manual, and track how the evaluation process affects decisions made through a formal, rather than an ad hoc, process.
· The reconstitution of the Advisory Committee in 2008 is a key step toward inclusiveness, but the effectiveness of this development has not been documented at this point. The Advisory Committee currently meets twice a year, but the results of these meetings and the impact that they can and should had on planning and acquisition decisions remains unclear.
Future Direction/Recommendations
In the last two years, the library has gone through a significant period of transition and re-organization. It has acquired new leadership and taken on new and expanded responsibilities. The broad satisfaction with its support and the hyperbolic praise that departments such as I.T. and Media Services and Instructional Support Services receive in the written comments on the surveys indicate a high level of satisfaction with core elements of the division, and while the evaluation process requires revision and expansion, its implementation since 2008 represents a movement toward self-evaluation and inclusiveness and signifies that the division will increasingly define its goals and evaluate its outcomes in response to the needs of the college.